After we mentioned the tongue-eating fish parasite the other day, Ben brought the Agenda’s attention to a particular kind of wasp that, when it needs to lay eggs, seeks out a cockroach, first paralyzing it with a sting to its midsection and then piercing its brain and injecting a venom that neutralizes the cockroach’s escape instinct. The wasp then leads the cockroach by its antennae to the wasp’s den, where it lays its egg on the cockroach’s belly. When the egg hatches, the larva chews a hole in the cockroach, slips inside, feeds on cockroach guts for a few days, then cocoons and eventually busts out of the cockroach as a full-grown wasp.

Whoa. Nature.
And there’s more where that came from, but you’ll just have to wait.

NB: Two of our coastal associates, Diru and Goob, have rolled in and are expected to be pretty demanding of the Agenda’s time. As such, posts over the next couple of days could be fairly minimalist. You have been warned.

Also, thanks to Fredville for the shout-out.



BREAKING: Clay Aiken is gay?!?!? Who saw that coming?